Celiac Who?

OMG - Im what? Did you say that both tests were positive?
I have not felt well for ages and went to my doctor asking to be tested for Celiac and Lactose Intolerance. My doctor first says, well you are positive for Lactose...my thoughts were well thats not so bad, I can take pills for that.... then she really dropped the bomb..you are also Celiac, well I thought you must be joking I can't be both!!!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Well, this is not a food blog but I do post the odd recipe. This post will be about fish and the recipe well lets just say I don't use a measuring cup well or take pictures!!!Last night we had fish, it was a white fish that started with "T" that's all I know about it. I was craving something different and felt inspired to try something. Now I did not see this on a show or anything, Don mentioned sliced Pears, Lemons, an assortment of other options to me. This is what I did instead.Use a Blender or Vita Mix

Friday, January 29, 2010

It's VACATION TIME...Im so excited, we are going to the Dominic Republic - Punta Cana for a week of sun and fun. Probably a few drinks included as well.We are staying at the Natura Park resort which is supposed to be an eco resort but lets face it, my idea of eco and their's is totally different. When they say eco, it means that the building and surroundings are all build out of eco friendly/native material. Im just going for the beach and it is supposed to be amazing. It was hard to pick a place to go, we really didn't have a preference other than under a certain price point, at least 4*'s and a sandy beach. We looked at so many places and different resorts and reviews from hundreds of people. Finally we found this place and the price was right. The reviews were mixed but they all are, but everyone said the beach was the best. We will go with an open mind and I think because of that we will have a great time.Am I concerned with food? Yes I have to admit I am a little nervous. Ive heard lots of people say there is no body that speaks english at all there and that terrifies me. But I will go with a card in spanish telling them of my diet concerns and some soy milk, cereal and snacks that I will bring with me, cross my fingers and hope Im not strictly living on salad for a week.

Monday, January 25, 2010

My sister was going to Vegas the beginning of January and I gave her a "Challenge if she so chose to take it" On a few blogs I frequent there is always talk of the great stuff you can only get in the states. Whole Foods and Trader Joes being the best places to check out. So I gave my sister 3 products that I have been curious about. 1) French's GF Worcestershire Sauce2) Coco Puffs from Post Cereal3) Tortilla crumbs

All 3 looked really interesting but it really was the Worcestershire Sauce I really wanted. It is one staple that I really miss.

I was so excited when I picked them up from the airport and she told me she had some surprises for me. It was quite the adventure finding one of the stores. They were told a few different directions but finally made it to Whole Foods. They were pretty impressed at the size of the store I guess its huge. But what really impressed them more was that this Hippy Health Food store had a armed security guard!!!!! Only in the States!! They had difficulty finding the exact products I wanted but they came home with 2 bottles of Lee&Perrin Worcestershire Sauce and 2 boxes of a Coco Rice cereal. I was so excited about Lee & Perrin, Caesar salad dressing and Beef Stroganoff here you come.

The cereal is interesting, not bad but different. I decided to make Chocolate Rice Krispy Squares and see what it tasted like. I must admit using coco rice cereal works. They were really good. Caesar Salad dressing very yummy now with the Lee & Perrin and I made my Beef Stroganoff on Saturday. I also had to substitute Coconut milk for Sour Cream but wow it was sooooo good. I will post pictures later.

So thanks Brenda, Dave, Tara & Neil for taking the time to find me some great GF stuff and hopefully you had fun with this little challenge.

I want to go to the states now to see for myself! Maybe Vegas is in my future for 2010.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

So, I went for my annual and my doctor did the usually tests.I got a call saying that she wanted to chat about my test results but nothing serious so no rush. Don thought, you are low on iron, your always low and your not taking anything. I didn't think so but hey Ive been low and to me felt fine in the past.Off I went to see her.First: Im low on Vitamin D - well ok thats a new one. But better get on that because with out Vit D I won't absorb any Calcium and we all know how important that is. Being Lactose its even doubly important. Second: my blood is saturated (her words) with Iron. Im off the chart, and we have no idea why. Yes it seems that my little villa are all up and proudly absorbing nutrients again, so much so its gone overboard. I do not take any type of supplement, not even a vitamin so to have the iron that high is very unusual. She wasn't concerned however because my Hemoglobin is fine. Weird eh!!!!We will monitor and if I start to look like I have a tan i will go back for more tests. She also told me that the only cure if it gets bad is literally draining my blood. I burst out laughing and all I could think of was leaching!!! No that is not what they do thank god, when I looked it up they will take a unit of blood 2-3 time a week until the numbers are normal and then you have to go back every 3-4 times a year to keep it good. Turns out your body has no natural way of getting rid of iron. Interesting stuff.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

We went to costco on friday and wow I found some really good Gluten Free products that I have never seen there before plus stocked up on some of my favorites.First there was some new Rice Crackers that they were taste testing and wow, pretty darn good. Marked right on the box Certified Gluten Free. Grimms has come out with a package of 3 different meats all cut nicely for crackers or pizza... perfect for Grey Cup time or Christmas parties. Grimms Cracker Toppers, awesome. Sahale Snacks are one of my favorite must buys when at coscto. Finally last in this picture is some Goat Cheese Brie. I have found that I can tolerate Goat Cheese as it has very little lactose in it. Im really sensitive to lactose so this is a great thing. This brie is the perfect size.

This pictures shows some other great finds. Quinoa, a organic 3lb bag for $8.99 what a great price. Also we found a soup that even though the ingredient list was really long I could not find any Gluten in it. Harry's Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup with chipotle. It is a great pre-made soup when your in a hurry. Last I've been buying this cheese now for a while ever since I saw it posted on Glutastic's blog. Lactose free Swiss Cheese slices... very yummy.

So it was a great haul at costco this week, always fun to take the time and find some new treasures.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hmmm in a way it might be!In July Don and I move in together, along with his daughter. It was interesting setting up a new house with Gluten and Non-Gluten concerns. We have designated cupboards for items that contain Gluten. 2 toasters and a Red cutting board that is only used for Gluten things (bread mostly). Still not one bit of wheat flour, rye or barley in the house. I was very adamant about that part. I mean lets face it you want to bake and cook at least make it that everyone in the house can eat it. On to what this post is really about. Don's daughter is 23, and she was complaining lots about stomach aches, vomiting and other discomforts. She sees her doctor regularly and one day when I came home the big news was "Guess what Im being tested for?" Of course Celiac!!! I had mentioned it a few times and we had even joked that both her and Don didn't feel well after a Gluten night. Well the blood test in, yup we now have 2 of us in the house.. poor Don, he is on his own for Gluten nights now. I think there should be a support group for Non-Celiac spouses. How will she cope, well I hope its a bit easier for her, she was already eating Gluten Free at home most of the time so that transition will be OK, also the house is set up properly and we are all aware of cross contamination. The hard part will be away from home, work, lunch, out with friends. Will she have the same reactions I did, temper tantrums and such. I hope not but we will all be more understanding if they do happen. Its hard and I hope she knows that she has mine and Don's full support. So far it seems to be going well. She is trying to educate herself and will ask me lots of questions. Time will tell and as I know from first hand it takes awhile to really start to feel better.

So if your ever visiting our place, be careful you may get contaminated and leave a Celiac!!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Well, today I have officially been on a gluten & lactose free diet for 1 year. Its also the birthday of Kracker since I took him home from the Canmore SPCA on this same day. This is a time for me to reflect on the past year. I remember this day so well, actually I remember the day before even better. I hate shopping, never been a passion and when I picked this day to change my life for ever I had several reasons. First it was right after Thanksgiving and I went to see my parents that weekend and literally gorged myself on gluten.... It wasn't pretty people. I also had the week off work. So tuesday Oct 14th Don also had the day off so we went shopping for all the things that I would need to make the change. I had a list of products from Flours to snacks and different stores I wanted to check out. 6hrs later, 6 stores later and more weird types of flour than any sane person should ever have to have in their pantry, we were done. To say it was overwhelming in understating it. It took me 2 days to actually put all the stuff away, I just couldn't deal with it all. Kracker was my diversion... it was the reason I wanted a small cuddle dog. I was feeling sorry for myself and thought, hey lets get another dog that needs me and it will all be better. Do I have regrets on that decision...there are days. Would I do things differently... NO Way!!! when the little goof gives me a quick kiss or nudges me on my leg I'm lost. Oh... back to earth... So the past year has brought me a lot of changes and not just in my diet. But I would say the first 8 months are the hardest. I had temper tantrums, I cried, I laughed, I got mad and I was sick! I think that has been one the most frustrating parts this past year is that I really did not feel better for a long time. Symptoms still persisted and I just would feel so crappy. But I was healing on the inside and it just takes time. I still have flareups and I have to be careful with lactose, it is the worse. But I can happily say that the last few months I have felt pretty good and what I think is normal. I don't have the cravings for stuff I can't have anymore and the most amazing one is Beer. I have no desire to have a beer anymore, and I think its because it used to make me so sick. I am enjoying wine a lot more though.

My boyfriend, family and friends have been amazing, they are my rocks. They kept me sane and put so much effort in making things that I could eat and just supporting me whenever I needed to vent. I owe them all so much I don't even really have the words to express what they mean to me. Luv you guys!!!

Ive made it thru my first year as a celiac and I have a life time ahead of me. But a lifetime of feeling better. I have learned so much about Gluten and myself this year its amazing. Education on this subject is key to being able to maintain a GF diet. I have lots of cookbooks and subscribe to I think every magazine out there, and the learning will continue forever.